Antibacterial personal care compositions are known in the art. Especially useful are antibacterial cleansing compositions, which typically are used to cleanse the skin and to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms present on the skin, especially the hands, arms, and face of the user.
Another class of antibacterial personal care compositions is hand sanitizer gels. This class of compositions is used primarily by medical personnel to disinfect the hands and fingers. A hand sanitizer gel is applied to, and rubbed into, the hands and fingers, and the composition is allowed to evaporate from the skin.
Antibacterial compositions in general are used, for example, in the health care industry, food service industry, meat processing industry, and in the private sector by individual consumers. The widespread use of antibacterial compositions indicates the importance consumers place on controlling bacteria and other microorganism populations on skin. It is important, however, that antibacterial compositions provide a substantial and broad spectrum reduction in microorganism populations quickly and without problems associated with toxicity and skin irritation.
In particular, antibacterial cleansing compositions typically contain an active antibacterial agent, a surfactant, and various other ingredients, for example, dyes, fragrances, pH adjusters, thickeners, skin conditioners, and the like, in an aqueous carrier. Several different classes of antibacterial agents have been used in antibacterial cleansing compositions. Examples of traditional antibacterial agents include a bisguanidine (e.g., chlorhexidine digluconate), diphenyl compounds, benzyl alcohols, trihalocarbanilides, quaternary ammonium compounds, ethoxylated phenols, and phenolic compounds, such as halo-substituted phenolic compounds, like PCMX (i.e., p-chloro-m-xylenol) and triclosan (i.e., 2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenylether). Present-day antimicrobial compositions based on such antibacterial agents exhibit a wide range of antibacterial activity, ranging from low to high, depending on the microorganism to be controlled and the particular antibacterial composition.
Most commercial antibacterial compositions, however, generally offer a low to moderate antibacterial activity. Antibacterial activity is assessed against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including both Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms. The log reduction, or alternatively the percent reduction, in bacterial populations provided by the antibacterial composition correlates to antibacterial activity. A log reduction of 3-5 is most preferred, a 1-3 reduction is preferred, whereas a log reduction of less than 1 is least preferred, for a particular contact time, generally ranging from 15 seconds to 5 minutes. Thus, a highly preferred antibacterial composition exhibits a 3-5 log reduction against a broad spectrum of microorganisms in a short contact time.
It should be noted that high log reductions have been achieved at pH values of 4 and 9, but such log reductions are attributed at least in part to these relatively extreme pH values. Compositions having such pH values can irritate the skin and other surfaces, and, therefore, typically are avoided. It has been difficult to impossible to achieve a high log reduction using an antibacterial composition having a neutral pH of about 5 to about 8, and especially about 6 to about 8.
For example, WO 98/01110 discloses compositions comprising triclosan, surfactants, solvents, chelating agents, thickeners, buffering agents, and water. WO 98/01110 is directed to reducing skin irritation by employing a reduced amount of surfactant.
Fendler et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,462 discloses compositions comprising PCMX and selected surfactants. The compositions disclosed therein are devoid of anionic surfactants and nonionic surfactants.
WO 97/46218 and WO 96/06152 disclose compositions based on triclosan, organic acids or salts, hydrotropes, and hydric solvents.
EP 0 505 935 discloses compositions containing PCMX in combination with nonionic and anionic surfactants, particularly nonionic block co-polymer surfactants.
WO 95/32705 discloses a mild surfactant combination that can be combined with antibacterial compounds, like triclosan.
WO 95/09605 discloses antibacterial compositions containing anionic surfactants and alkylpolyglycoside surfactants.
WO 98/55096 discloses antimicrobial wipes having a porous sheet impregnated with an antibacterial composition containing an active antimicrobial agent, an anionic surfactant, an acid, and water, wherein the composition has a pH of about 3.0 to about 6.0.
N. A. Allawala et al., J. Amer. Pharm. Assoc.--Sci. Ed., Vol. XLII, no. 5, pp. 267-275, (1953) discusses the antibacterial activity of active antibacterial agents in combination with surfactants.
A. G. Mitchell, J. Pharm. Pharmacol., Vol. 16, pp. 533-537, (1964) discloses compositions containing PCMX and a nonionic surfactant that exhibit antibacterial activity. The compositions disclosed in the Mitchell publication exhibit antibacterial activity in at least 47 minutes contact time, thus the compositions are not highly effective.
Prior disclosures rely upon the presence of a traditional active antibacterial agent (e.g., a phenol compound) in the composition, but have not addressed the issue of which composition ingredient in an antibacterial composition actually provides bacterial control. Prior compositions also have not provided an effective, fast, and broad spectrum control of bacteria at a neutral pH of about 5 to about 8, particularly at pH about 6 to about 8, and especially in the absence of an active antibacterial agent.
An efficacious antibacterial composition has been difficult to achieve because of the properties of the antibacterial agents and the effects of a surfactant on an antibacterial agent. For example, several traditional active antibacterial agents, like phenols, have an exceedingly low solubility in water, e.g., triclosan solubility in water is about 5 to 10 ppm (parts per million). The solubility of the antibacterial agent is increased by adding surfactants to the composition. However, an increase in solubility of the antibacterial agent, and in turn, the amount of antibacterial agent in the composition, does not necessarily lead to an increased antibacterial efficacy.
Without being bound to any particular theory, it is theorized that the addition of a surfactant increases antibacterial agent solubility, but also typically reduces the availability of the antibacterial agent because a surfactant in water forms micelles above the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant. The critical micelle concentration varies from surfactant to surfactant. The formation of micelles is important because micelles have a lipophilic region that attracts and solubilizes the antibacterial agent, which renders the antibacterial agent unavailable to immediately contact bacteria, and thereby control bacteria in short time period (i.e., one minute or less).
The antibacterial agent solubilized in the surfactant micelles will control bacteria, but in relatively long time frames. The antibacterial agent, if free in the aqueous solution and not tied up in the surfactant micelle (i.e., is activated), is attracted to the lipophilic membrane of the bacteria and performs its function quickly. If the antibacterial agent is tied up in the surfactant micelle (i.e., is not activated), the antibacterial agent is only slowly available and cannot perform its function in a time frame that is practical for cleaning the skin.
In addition, antibacterial agent that is solubilized in the micelle is readily washed from the skin during the rinsing process, and is not available to deposit on the skin to provide a residual antibacterial benefit. Rather, the antibacterial agent is washed away and wasted.
Accordingly, a need exists for an antibacterial composition that is highly efficacious against a broad spectrum of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria in a short time period, and wherein the antibacterial activity is attributed primarily, or solely, to the presence of composition ingredients that are different from a traditional active antibacterial agent. The present invention is directed to such antibacterial compositions.